Aldergrove Secondary celebrates 60 years

Six decades of history will be celebrated at the 60th anniversary open house of Aldergrove Community Secondary School.

A great deal of planning and preparation has gone into hosting the event which will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 12 at the school on 29th Avenue.

“We’ve been putting the word out any and every way we can, to invite past and present students, retired administrators and staff to come and share the day with us,” said ACSS principal Jeremy Lyndon.

The official ceremonies will be held in the main gymnasium, where a new mural will be unveiled on an existing wall. The mural will be of a Totem Pole, which has been the school’s symbol since it was dedicated by the student council of the day.

The mural is being created by local artist Dean Lauze, who also created the outstanding mural on the Aldergrove Legion several years ago. The school district has prepared the wall for the permanent mural.

Inside the school there will be six “Decade Rooms” in which displays will recreate the spirit of the ‘50s, ‘60s and son to up until the 2010s.

“Some displays will be generic, representing popular culture, with artifacts people have loaned. They will all look very different,” said Lyndon.

“There will be lots of photos from the ‘50s and ‘60s, and so on. It will be interesting to see how the high school experience as changed over the decades.”

The school’s drama department will present a variety of short skits in the Dramnasium, and the high school band will also be performing.

“The event will actually go on till about 6 p.m. as there will be two end of the day alumni basketball games in the gym,” said Lyndon.

The school will also hold a student pep rally the day before the event to rally the student body for this historic event.